How To Update A Lakemaster Chip

Lakemaster and Navionics GPS cards for sonar/GPS units are two of the most popular GPS mapping cards available, especially for inland angling around the United States and Canada, with charts for states, regions, or for big private lakes and rivers.

Allow'due south compare Navionics vs Lakemaster and run into the pros and cons of both GPS mapping cards.

Compatibility

The compatibility between both Navionics and Lakemaster is quite different. Lakemaster map cards are merely compatible with Humminbird units. This might be due to some agreement between the two companies, only with Humminbird being i of the superlative, if not the #1 sonar unit brand used, information technology works for Lakemaster.

Navionics, on the other hand, works with many different brands of sonar units on the marketplace, which is a plus for any angler who doesn't use Humminbird sonar units.

Navionics cards will work with Lowrance, Simrad, Raymarine, and even Humminbird units.

Navionics vs Lakemaster: Quality of mapping item

The quality of both Lakemaster and Navionics is very skilful. On a personal level I adopt Lakemaster over Navionics, merely other anglers might remember the opposite, and it comes downwardly to personal preference mostly. I would consider them to be a tie in the ease of viewing section.

You can also custom tailor the maps, with the option to alter the profile line settings from ane pes, 5 human foot, 10 human foot, increments, and anything in between.

You tin likewise highlight sure depths to help them stand out. If you want to view everything nether or over v anxiety in depth, you can highlight 5 feet or less in ane color like carmine and have an easy view of these areas.

Navionics and Lakemaster mapping sonar charts feature loftier-quality hydrographic maps at the end of the mean solar day, and yous tin't go incorrect with either one if you have a suitable platform in this attribute.

Navionics vs Lakemaster Maps: Coverage

Lakemaster and Navionics are pretty close when it comes to coverage. Nearly popular regions and bodies of water will bear witness that both equally have superb mapping and coverage, but the pocket-sized off the beaten path lakes might not have the high definition and detail contouring that other lakes will have, and the divergence could be drastic with contours every 10 feet.

Virtually of the time, when on a smaller lake, this isn't an upshot, as it's easy enough for anglers to cruise effectually and find spots with sonar and mark them with waypoints, and in areas like Wisconsin and Minnesota, even smaller sized lakes can have high-quality maps and the coverage might just be lacking on small remote lakes with no boat access, it actually comes down to being an almost non-event with both Navionics and Lakemaster SD maps.

Highlight depth range

Y'all tin can also custom tailor the maps, with the option to alter the contour line settings from 1 foot, five human foot, 10 foot, increments, and annihilation in between.

You tin can also highlight certain depths to assist features and detail stand out. If y'all want to view everything under or over v feet in depth, you tin highlight 5 anxiety or less in ane colour like red and have an easy and accurate view of these areas.

Shallow water highlight

As mentioned above, both chip offerings offering a shallow water highlight option to focus on a certain depth range. These options are great for finding areas or structure. This selection is also great as a rubber feature, so yous know where any shallow areas like reefs or sandbars are located that may potentially damage your gunkhole or your motors' lower unit.

Water level adjust

Both Lakemaster maps and Navionics mapping cards have a water level adjustment characteristic included. While something I don't take reward of this depth range feature personally, this tin be convenient on reservoirs or impoundments with a loftier fluctuation of water.

Navionics vs Lake Chief: Satellite Maps Overlay

Navionics chips and Lakemaster mapping chips both take satellite overlay features. Both of these features are simply available with the Navionics platinum and the Lakemaster Plus cards.

These cards offering a few extra features compared to the standard mapping cards, and while they are more expensive, the added cost is fairly pocket-size for the added features.

Admission to Maps Updates

Access to updating maps is a topic where in that location is a bit of dissimilarity between the two cards. Navionics offers updates on maps for a year, while Lake master does not feature any updates.

If updates are important to y'all, Navionics will clearly shine here, but if you lot are like me and run Humminbird units and fish the same inland lakes that don't really change (structure and depths remain the same then the maps remain accurate), having the Navionics updates is not really an effect.

Lakemaster vs Navionics Bit: Chart plotting

Units that allow for the charting of lake maps have been a game-changer for fishing. Both Lakemaster and Navionics characteristic chart plotting.

As mentioned earlier, some lakes might non have highly detailed charts due to only existence off the beaten path. Some lakes just weren't mapped in great item by the Lakemaster and Navionics companies so the lake maps don't be, but with the chart plotting feature, that's non a concern, as this feature allows you to brand your own accurate maps of favorite lakes yourself if they don't accept charts on the chip for your region.

This means whatever lake can have highly detailed charts with a loftier level of accuracy, and non just the ones that have been mapped past the companies, allowing y'all to find small fishing holding areas and construction that you may not accept plant otherwise.

Pricing: Bones Version and Avant-garde Versions

While the pricing of both is fairly shut, Lakemaster is cheaper than Navionics, but you also demand to keep in heed that Lakemaster only works with Humminbird units, while Navionics works with multiple dissimilar units.

The difference in price typically ranges around 10-thirty dollars between the Lakemaster Plus and the standard Navionics cards. Navionics Platinum, on the other hand, can be quite a chip more expensive, and regional mapping packages can cost over $300, simply if you fish off-shore or a larger number of lakes spread over multiple states, or the Dandy Lakes, this might be the best pick.

If you're still shopping for a fish finder to use the charts in, it would be a skillful thought to keep the prices in mind and meet if the extra cost is worth information technology to go with the Navionics platinum map over the Lakemaster plus cards.

Navionics Lake Nautical chart Packages

Region	Navionics
North	Buy at Bass Pro
South	Buy at Bass Pro
Due east	Buy at Bass Pro
West	Buy at Bass Pro

Lakemaster Lake Nautical chart Packages

Region	Lakemaster
Great Lakes	Purchase at Bass Pro
Southeast States	Buy at Bass Pro
Bang-up Plains	Buy at Bass Pro
Mid-Atlantic States	Buy at Bass Pro
Northeast States	Buy at Bass Pro

Will Navionics work on Humminbird devices?

Navionics Map chips will work with Humminbird sonar units without any consequence. That's one of the things that really makes Navionics stand up out among other mapping cards on the market. These are uniform with a broad range of brands.

Yous tin can even use the base version of Navionics without having a fish finder. For 10 dollars, y'all can buy the Navionics app on the app store for your smartphone and get access to pretty authentic mapping. Even though I have Lakemaster chips in my sonar units, I also have the Navionics app, and if I encounter a lake that has poor charts on the Lakemaster bit, I can cheque to encounter if the Navionics charts app has it charted, and sometimes I get lucky and it volition have a map.

Does LakeMaster work with Lowrance devices?

LakeMaster SD cards volition not work with Lowrance devices. Lakemaster will only work with Humminbird devices like the Humminbird Helix and others. This is due to both Humminbird and Lakemaster being owned by the same company, Johnson Outdoors.

This is likewise a major consideration if you are looking to purchase and update the fish finders in your gunkhole. Some anglers love Lowrance, and some love Humminbird. I'm personally a Humminbird guy, and then the compatibility problems of the Lakemaster cards aren't a huge deal to me. But other anglers may want more options.

Last remarks

Both the Lakemaster and Navionics mapping chips excel at giving anglers great HD map visuals and accurate depth charts. The difference betwixt the ii really boils down to the fish finder unit that y'all apply. A detailed map of the body of water y'all want to fish tin drastically cut down on time needed to learn the lake, or it could assist you find new spots on your favorite lake. Ice fishing has also started seeing both charting options used in ice fishing specific sonar units, so be sure to explore that option if yous do hard h2o angling in the wintertime months.